Civil servants offered bonus for not going sick

Civil servants are to be paid bonuses to stop them taking so many days off sick.

Nearly 135,000 staff at the Department for Work and Pensions will be offered financial incentives just for turning up at work.

If successful, the scheme is likely to be rolled out across all Government departments.

The news will infuriate workers in the private sector, many of whom have fewer holidays, inferior pension schemes and lower annual rises - yet have a much better record of turning up for work.

A DWP spokesman said: "It is something that we are looking at because it has worked in the private sector."

£100million cost to the taxpayer

Parliamentary Under Secretary Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, who is leading a task force studying absenteeism, said: "I certainly think using incentives is a good thing and we at the DWP, as part of this process, got some money allocated towards some incentive schemes."

At present, each DWP worker takes an average of 11.3 sick days each year, at a cost of about £100million to the taxpayer.

Including their generous six-week holiday entitlement and eight Bank Holidays, this means they are off work for almost 50 days a year - the equivalent of one week in five.

The DWP - the Government's biggest department - said yesterday that it was too early to reveal further details about the scheme or when it would begin.

Extra money and holiday vouchers are both being considered but the department admitted a change of culture at the department was more important in the long-term than paying cash bonuses.

A spokesman pointed out that absenteeism was already falling, down 1.4 days over the last couple of years.

Public sector

The average public sector worker takes 10.3 sick days a year, compared with 6.8 days in the private sector, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Its annual survey into workplace absence found most 'sickies' were taken on Mondays and Fridays as workers enjoyed long weekends. Back pain, stress and mental health problems are the most common reasons for being off work, although many employers know the excuses are not always genuine.

An institute spokesman said it preferred staff to be encouraged to have a 'psychological contract' with their employer, rather than be 'bribed' not to go sick.

He said the problem was much worse for larger organisations, such as vast government departments, than for smaller companies.

The spokesman added: "The problem at bigger firms is the greater distance between the people who are making the decisions and the people who are carrying out the work."

One of the biggest handouts to combat absenteeism was made by the Royal Mail in August last year.

Staff were entered into a draw to win one of 37 Ford Focus cars worth £12,000 each and 75 holiday vouchers worth £2,000 if they did not take a day's 'unplanned absence' over a six-month period.

Nobody was left out as all staff who did not take a 'sickie' were rewarded with a £150 voucher.

The scheme, which is being continued, proved a huge success with attendance levels jumping 11 per cent.